Burial-casket



(No Model.)

J. G. FREY.

BURIAL CASKET.

No. 422,880. Patented Mar. 4, 1890.

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ATTORNEY WITNESSES:

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UNITED STATES PATENT OF ICE.

JOHN C. FREY, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

BU RlAL-CASKET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 422,880, dated March 4, 1890.

Application filed October 26, 1889- Serial No. 328,258. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN C. FREY, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented anew and useful Improvement in Burial Caskets, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of burialcaskets in which the face-plate or lid is soatt-ached to the casket as to be readily opened and closed without the use of screws for fastening the same in place.

l-Ieretofore this has been effected by so constructing the face-plate and its connections that it may be depressed and slid longitudinally toward the foot of the casket under the statlonary portion of the lid. In practice this has been found objectionable for several reasons. The faceplate so fitted to slide under the fixed portion of the lid cannot be ornamented with the high-relief moldings and designs which are so desirable in the trade. This mode of attachment also requires greater depth in the casket in order to afiord room under the fixed portion of the lid for the faceplate to slide, and also requires the frame of the lid to be specially constructed with grooves, raceways, springs, and inclined planes in order to permit the faceplate to be depressed and slid under the fixed lid, and when slid back to close the casket suitable apparatus for elevating it in place, the whole making much extra work and expense.

The object of my invention is to providea face-plate that may be attached to any casket made in the ordinary manner, which faceplate may bear moldings and ornaments of any desired height, and which may be slid transversely in ways above and outside of the casket proper and then turned down out of theway at the side of the casket, and when desired may be slid back into place and there secured. I attain these objects by the mech anism illustrated in the accompanying draw- 1n gs, in which- Figure l is a top plan view of the casket, showing the faceplate A closed in place. Fig. 2 is a top plan view showing the transverse grooved plates G G attached to the top of the casket at each end of the facecpening, the faceplate A slid transversely and turned down at the side of the casket, and the ends of the sliding grooved strips 9 g hinged to the ends of the sliding strips S S. Fig. 31's a detailed top view of one of the transverse grooved plates G G, in which slide the strips S S, and the sliding grooved strips g g, in the grooves of which in turn slide the flanges F F, which are attached to the under surface of the faceplate near each end. Fig. 4 shows a top view, and Fig. 5 a side view, of the same when the lid is slid transversely until it is beyond the vertical plane of the side of the casket and then turned down upon the hinges H H and rests in a vertical position at the side of the casket. Fig. 6 is a cross-section of one of the grooved plates G at a point where the slid ing grooved strip g, containing the flange F, is within it. Fig. 7 is a cross-section of one of the grooved plates G at a point where the sliding strip S is within it.

The grooved plate G at the end of the faceopening toward the foot of the casket is made to extend across the casket and is attached to the framework of the lid. In case the face opening be made square the other grooved plate G may be attached in the same manner at the upper end of the opening, as shown in Fig. 2. If, however, it is desired to have the upper end of the face-opening semicircular or semi hexagonal, this grooved plate may be short and extend only across the lidframe on the side toward which the face-plate is to slide.. In these grooved plates are located the two sliding grooved strips g g, having hinged to their rear ends the short sliding strips S S. The object of these hinged sliding strips is to permit-the faceplate when slid to one side to be turned down in a vertical position at the side of the casket, the strips S S remaining in line with and partly in the grooves of the plates G, being prevented from entirely leaving them by any convenient catch P, and extending beyond the vertical plane of the side of the casket, so as to form a sot-01f to carry the face-plate beyond the moldings on the side of the casket. The two flanges F F are attached by their upper surface to the under surface of the face-plate transversely near each end. These flanges begin at the edge of the faceplate, which is forward when the face-plate is slid open, and

extend nearly across the face-plate, being shorter than the width of theplate by the length of the strips S S. These flanges are fitted to slide within the sliding grooved strips g g during a portion of the transverse movement of the face-plate, when their further motion within the grooved strips g g is arrested by any suitable pin orcatch, by which in turn the grooved strips and the strips S S.

are drawn along with the face-plate and slide in the grooved plates G G until the transverse movement of the face-plate is completed, at which time the hinges H H will have been carried without the vertical plane of the side of the casket and its moldings, and the faceplate may then be turned down out of the way in a vertical position at the side of the casket. All these parts are retained in their proper relations by their dovetailed form, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, or in any other convenient manner.

When it is desired to close the casket, the face-plate is simply turned up upon its hinges ,until it is in the horizontal plane of the grooved plates G G, and is then slid back into place.

I am aware that face-plates have been used divided longitudinally into four sections, of which the inner two are hinged to and open out upon the outer two, the two upon each 0 side then sliding a few inches outward in opposite directions guided by pins, but not upon ways, and retained upon the casket-top, and I do not claim such a construction; but

What I desire to claim and secure by Letters Patent is 1. The combination, with a casket-top, of an undivided face-plate fitted to slide tran sversely to one side, guided in any convenient manner, and hinges upon which the face-plate may be turned down at the side of the casket, substantially as shown and described.

2. The combination, with a casket-top, of suitable transverse ways in the lid of the casket, and a face-plate capable of being slid 4 upon such ways transversely to one side, and

hinges upon which the face-plate may be.

turned down at the side of the casket, substantially as shown and described.

3. The combination, with a casket-top,of' 50 the face-plate A, flanges F F, sliding grooved strips g g, sliding hinged strips S S, and grooved plates G G, substantially as shown and described.

JOHN C. FREY. In presence of- HENRY W. CoNKLIN,

ADELBERT Cnomsn. 

